But are the bad points AS BAD as those found in prior Michael Bay directed entries?
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
- Thread starter SHIELD Agent 47
- Start date
To me the main thing that approached that level of bleh was Still Murderous Optimus. It continues to annoy me that they have Cullen on board and keep wasting him on RRRAGRH KILL NO MERCY faux badassery. The man's in his 80's, damn it. Let him be everyone's robot dad again while he still can.
Here it's more than just ruthless battle lust -- he's also curt and generally abrasive, yay -- and they do try it justify it with some actually interesting insight into the burden of leading during this tumultuous time (which they then try their hardest to tie to Noah, but that's a bit eh).
But he's still just so unlikable (and now in varying flavors) that the few times he's not that way come across as too little too late (the Til All Are One conversation) or hollow (suddenly not a dick, begging Noah not to destroy the key). I was genuinely surprised when early reviews mentioned it, as this new slate would've been the perfect chance to give Optimus' characterization the fresh start it needed. And here, the first time he's front and center, it's kinda more of the same.
They do build to a turn at the end where he likes humans now (just ahead of a speech that's as tacked on as some of the Bay films'), so who knows.
(There's also the weird "hola papi" joke with Noah/Wheeljack that feels like an attempt at a fresh take on the Hot Rod accent joke that really doesn't offer anything all that fresh, but that's quite minor compared to this.)
Here it's more than just ruthless battle lust -- he's also curt and generally abrasive, yay -- and they do try it justify it with some actually interesting insight into the burden of leading during this tumultuous time (which they then try their hardest to tie to Noah, but that's a bit eh).
But he's still just so unlikable (and now in varying flavors) that the few times he's not that way come across as too little too late (the Til All Are One conversation) or hollow (suddenly not a dick, begging Noah not to destroy the key). I was genuinely surprised when early reviews mentioned it, as this new slate would've been the perfect chance to give Optimus' characterization the fresh start it needed. And here, the first time he's front and center, it's kinda more of the same.
They do build to a turn at the end where he likes humans now (just ahead of a speech that's as tacked on as some of the Bay films'), so who knows.
(There's also the weird "hola papi" joke with Noah/Wheeljack that feels like an attempt at a fresh take on the Hot Rod accent joke that really doesn't offer anything all that fresh, but that's quite minor compared to this.)
Not sure where to put this, but since I’m comparing it to other RotB toys…
One of “those toy reviewers” got their hands on Studio Series Optimus Primal, images have been ganked from the video. In addition to shots of the figure itself, there are comparisons of other Voyager releases and with the large “Ultimate Optimus Primal” from Takara (which is shipping now! Got my notice from BBTS!).
news.tfw2005.com
My decision not to preorder Is feeling justified. There are a LOT of choices here that feel..inelegant. Most of my prior complaints remain: it looks too complicated for what it’s trying to do, it’s an over engineered Voyager with extra articulation and accessories. In hand, a new set of other problems present themselves. The biggest being color and deco issues.
I’m not sure if that is intentional or not, but the “blotched/worn” silver paint doesn’t work. I‘m sure it’s supposed to look like “wear” from age, but in the absence of it in other areas makes the deco look more like it’s chipping as a production issue. The decision to omit several key deco points (the thighs and abs) is baffling at this price point.
But the biggest peeve that has come out of these pics is the that nasty “pre-aged” grey plastic garbage they have going on. I feel I’m a pretty understanding guy when it comes to many design compromises, but that plastic choice is just not excusable. It looked bad on PMOP during Titans Return, it looks bad here. Considering both the Voyager and Optimus Prime (BOTH Voyagers!) used a more appropriate shade makes this decision even worse. It contrasts in the worse way with the silver deco and just doesn’t flow with the rest of the figure.
About the only real shining point to me are the accessories. The Transwarp Key is nicely done (with splitting feature), and the chains are a novel addition to the weapon system and has enormous potential in use in other figures (as seen with the Battletrap image). The ax is nicely sculpted, but suffers being cast from the same off grey the figure is (the Optimus holding pic really illustrates how that doesn’t work). But I can’t justify $60 for a few accessories. If in hand responses about the engineering are good, I may consider a clearance buy. As it stands? I think I’ll just stick with my Ultimate Primal. It might not be accurate, but it looks FUN. Or if I wanted something more accurate, I can get the articulated model kit for about 2/3rds the price.
One of “those toy reviewers” got their hands on Studio Series Optimus Primal, images have been ganked from the video. In addition to shots of the figure itself, there are comparisons of other Voyager releases and with the large “Ultimate Optimus Primal” from Takara (which is shipping now! Got my notice from BBTS!).
Studio Series Leader ROTB Optimus Primal In-Hand Images
Via PrimeVsPrime on Youtube, we now have an in-hand image gallery of the new Studio Series Leader ROTB Optimus Primal figure. This gallery shows off his bot and beast modes, his accessories and features, some poses, and size comparisons. Optimus Primal is a very detailed figure for sure. Check...
news.tfw2005.com
My decision not to preorder Is feeling justified. There are a LOT of choices here that feel..inelegant. Most of my prior complaints remain: it looks too complicated for what it’s trying to do, it’s an over engineered Voyager with extra articulation and accessories. In hand, a new set of other problems present themselves. The biggest being color and deco issues.
I’m not sure if that is intentional or not, but the “blotched/worn” silver paint doesn’t work. I‘m sure it’s supposed to look like “wear” from age, but in the absence of it in other areas makes the deco look more like it’s chipping as a production issue. The decision to omit several key deco points (the thighs and abs) is baffling at this price point.
But the biggest peeve that has come out of these pics is the that nasty “pre-aged” grey plastic garbage they have going on. I feel I’m a pretty understanding guy when it comes to many design compromises, but that plastic choice is just not excusable. It looked bad on PMOP during Titans Return, it looks bad here. Considering both the Voyager and Optimus Prime (BOTH Voyagers!) used a more appropriate shade makes this decision even worse. It contrasts in the worse way with the silver deco and just doesn’t flow with the rest of the figure.
About the only real shining point to me are the accessories. The Transwarp Key is nicely done (with splitting feature), and the chains are a novel addition to the weapon system and has enormous potential in use in other figures (as seen with the Battletrap image). The ax is nicely sculpted, but suffers being cast from the same off grey the figure is (the Optimus holding pic really illustrates how that doesn’t work). But I can’t justify $60 for a few accessories. If in hand responses about the engineering are good, I may consider a clearance buy. As it stands? I think I’ll just stick with my Ultimate Primal. It might not be accurate, but it looks FUN. Or if I wanted something more accurate, I can get the articulated model kit for about 2/3rds the price.
Last edited:
Anyway, here are some of the pics.
Yeah, it's been confirmed that these chain and axe accessories are indeed intended for Battletrap and Optimus Prime, respectively, essentially making this Optimus Primal toy a stealth accessory pack release.
There's a clip in one of the movie teasers where Primal had a chain between his two swords, sure the intent for them is to go with other figures but it would be cool to have seen Primal swing one sword in the air via the chain
Some ROTB content is in an upcoming "mook" ("magazine book"), which will probably become available to order soon at Amazon Japan. It will come with a "free" legends class Legacy Optimus Prime figure too:
- https://www.allspark.com/forums/threads/transformers-legacy-line-revealed.370/post-95140
- https://www.allspark.com/forums/threads/transformers-legacy-line-revealed.370/post-95140
Neat!
Probably because most collectors don't really care about the Titan Changers.
Also isn't that a repack of an earlier authentics figure?
Yes, and I believe the other TF sites, at least, have already covered this?
I'm not sure if this was covered before but my local Ito Yokado shop has raffle-style tickets to "win" various cutouts and other ROTB related tat for around ¥700 a pop.
Last edited:
As unpopular as this take may be, I think this movie suffered from the Maximals being included.
A lot of the excess Bay-ness is gone, and I understand you need a human plot. And there seemed to be a pretty good mix of human stuff and Cybertronian stuff when it was just the human characters, Autobots, and Terrorcons.
But once you add in Wheeljack, and the Maximals... it's rough. Cheetor only has one line, Rhinox doesn't speak at all, and we fall into the Bay problem of having all of these characters who don't actually have character.
Balancing out a human cast and a robot cast can be a bit much, but it can be done and this movie was doing it well before it added a bunch of other characters it didn't have time for.
Better than most Bay outings, but it left me disappointment. I'd say my expectations were maybe too high but also Bumblebee exists so...
A lot of the excess Bay-ness is gone, and I understand you need a human plot. And there seemed to be a pretty good mix of human stuff and Cybertronian stuff when it was just the human characters, Autobots, and Terrorcons.
But once you add in Wheeljack, and the Maximals... it's rough. Cheetor only has one line, Rhinox doesn't speak at all, and we fall into the Bay problem of having all of these characters who don't actually have character.
Balancing out a human cast and a robot cast can be a bit much, but it can be done and this movie was doing it well before it added a bunch of other characters it didn't have time for.
Better than most Bay outings, but it left me disappointment. I'd say my expectations were maybe too high but also Bumblebee exists so...